SAN DIEGO -- The best score belonged to Stewart Cink. The best round belonged to Pat Perez. Tiger Woods didnt come close to claiming either Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open, where the seven-time champion failed to break par in the opening round for first time in his career. Cink ran off three straight birdies late in his round on the easier North Course at Torrey Pines for an 8-under 64. That gave him a one-shot lead over Gary Woodland, who also was on the North, which is more than 600 yards shorter. Perez was on the South Course, host of the 2008 U.S. Open and with greens so firm this year that it felt like a major. Perez had a 67, the best score on the South by two shots, and even more astounding is that he played bogey-free. The South played nearly four shots harder than the North. Woods, making his 2014 debut, failed to birdie any of the par 5s and had to settle for a 72. "Even par is not too bad, but I didnt play the par 5s worth a darn today," Woods said. "Obviously, thats (tantamount) to try to get any kind of scoring on the South Course. Youve got to take care of the par 5s because theres not a lot of holes you can make birdie here. Subsequently, I didnt finish under par." Even at eight shots behind, he wasnt worried about a chance to win at Torrey for the ninth time -- including a U.S. Open. The courses are so different than its difficult to gauge where anyone stands until everyone has had a crack at both courses. The weekend rounds are on the South. "Im going to have to go out there and get it a little bit tomorrow to not be so far behind come Saturday or Sunday," Woods said. Cink did what he was supposed to do. The rough is up on the North, too, so it was important to get the ball in play. He did that, allowing him to take on some pins. "You want to really take advantage of the North Course because it will yield to you a little bit, and the South Course will not," Cink said. "I did a great job of going out there, just playing shot-by-shot, not really getting too caught up in, I have to birdie these holes. As a consequence, I actually made a few birdies and it felt great." Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, felt awful. He was coping with a back locked up on him, unusual for Mickelson because he doesnt have a history of back pain. It got so bad at one point that Mickelson thought about withdrawing from his hometown event, especially after his 4-iron on the par-5 18th at the North Course nearly went out-of-bounds. Mickelson used his short game to make birdie, and then made another birdie on the next hole and he scratched out a 69. "Never thought about not starting, but around the turn I thought about maybe taking this week off and seeing if I could get a little bit better," he said. "I kind of fought through the back nine and gave myself a chance." He described it as a muscular problem and was hopeful treatment would help. Mickelson swung easy on the North. Players have to swing for the fences on the 7,698-yard South Course, where the average score Thursday 74.45. Not many would have predicted a 67 on the South, though Woods wasnt surprised when he heard who did it. "Why? He grew up here," Woods said. "This was his home course. Hes playing it more times than any tour pro certainly." Perez has such a history at Torrey that his father, Tony, continues to announce the players on the first tee at the South Course. And heres even better history -- Perez won a Junior World Championship at Torrey Pines, by beating some Orange County kid named Tiger Woods. "Best day of my life," Perez said. "Ive known him forever. Hes always been great to me. He gives me advice here and there, but to beat him that year was fantastic. ... Ive got to hold onto that, so thats about all that I got over him. But it hurts him. Ill you tell, it hurts him." Perez was joking. He is full of bluster and always fun, a favourite among the players. Thats what made Thursday so enjoyable. The weather was close to perfect, with hang gliders filling the sky left of the fourth fairway on the South. Perez had no bogeys on his card, and he cant remember if that ever happened since the South was stretched out to prepare for the U.S. Open. It was only one round, but it was a great for Perez -- and for Cink, who hasnt won since his British Open title at Turnberry in 2009. The test for Cink is Friday on the South, especially considering that only three players broke 70 on the South -- Perez, Charley Hoffman (another San Diego native) and rookie Kevin Tway, whose father (former PGA champion Bob Tway) won this event in 1986. Ottawas Brad Fritsch opened with a 3-under 69. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., carded a 70. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot an even par 72. Riley Wheeldon of Comox, B.C, who qualified on Monday, signed for a 4-over 76. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., was another shot back. DIVOTS: Jordan Spieth, who missed the cut at Torrey Pines last year as a 19-year-old making his pro debut, played with Woods and Jimmy Walker and shot 71. ... Fifty of the 62 rounds under par were on the North Course. ... The worst score on the North Course was a 77 by Brandt Snedeker and Derek Ernst. Juan Thornhill Womens Jersey . -- The Anaheim Ducks have signed left wing Dany Heatley to a one-year deal, returning the 33-year-old unrestricted free agent to the Pacific Division. Len Dawson Chiefs Jersey .ca. Mr. Fraser, It looks like Martin Brodeur is coming back to play for the Blues. I was wondering if you have any great stories or fond memories of your time on the ice with Brodeur - in the NHL, or maybe even the Olympics. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth-...l-Elite-Jersey/. The Mets made the announcement Sunday night. Parnell blew a save on opening day against Washington and the next day it was revealed he had partially torn right elbow ligament. Frank Clark Jersey . Not sure yet. #livetweetingthegreatuntangle — Strombone (@strombone1) April 17, 2014 Stage three, coping: I feel like I could use a cigarette or something. Juan Thornhill Chiefs Jersey .Brooks, a three-year veteran, was slow to get up after suffering the injury during a 5-yard run by Arian Foster.Brooks limped off the field midway through the quarter and then slowly walked to the locker room a few minutes later.NEW YORK -- Masahiro Tanaka throws a splitter that drops out of sight, ranks among the major league leaders in many prized pitching categories and appears, so far, to be worth every penny the New York Yankees paid to sign him. His place in those pinstripes? Tanaka seems to have a different take than most everyone else. "No, I dont feel that Im the ace," he said Saturday through a translator. Tanaka shut down Joe Mauer and the other Minnesota hitters while lowering his AL-best ERA to 2.06, and Brian McCann lined a go-ahead double in the eighth inning Saturday that sent the New York Yankees over the Twins 3-1. Tanaka (8-1) permitted only an unearned run in eight innings. The heralded rookie from Japan gave up four singles, just two leaving the infield. Tanaka struck out nine, giving him 88 in 78 2-3 innings. The 25-year-old righty is fanning more batters in the big leagues than he did back home before getting a $155 million, seven-year contract from the Yankees. "Its probably the guys here havent seen me," he said. Tanaka walked two and bounced two wild pitches. But he was especially sharp against Mauer, the three-time AL batting champion. Mauer, who faced Tanaka in spring training, struck out on three pitches in the first inning with a runner on third. Mauer fanned on four pitches with runners on second and third in the third, then tapped into a double play and later grounded out. "Guys said the ball was just disappearing," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "His splitter is unbelievable, hes got all the pitches." "And we also saw that hes very competitive. A few times you could see him yelling at himself, hes very competitive," he said. Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira left in the sixth because of soreness in his surgically repaired right wrist, the same problem that forced him to miss three games this week. Manager Joe Girardi said Teixeira was expected to miss two more games. "Our feeling, right now, is that its going to be short term," Girardi said. It was 1-all when Jacoby Ellsbury singled with one out in the Yankees eighth off Brian Duensing (1-2). Ellsbury stole second, and continued to third when catcher Joosmil Pintos throw from his knees went into centre field for an error.dddddddddddd In light showers, Brian Roberts walked and McCann hit an RBI double over leaping first baseman Chris Parmelee into the right-field corner. Following a 34-minute rain delay, Kelly Johnson drove in a run with an infield single. David Robertson pitched the ninth for his 12th save. Minnesota has lost seven of nine. Yangervis Solarte homered for the Yankees first run. Tanaka and Twins starter Kevin Correia both escaped early trouble, and nobody pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning until the seventh. Brian Dozier grounded the first pitch of the game off Johnsons glove at third base for an error, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Josh Willinghams two-out single. Correia got out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the first when he struck out Teixeira and got McCann to bounce into a double play. Solarte homered in the fourth, giving the rookie infielder a team-leading 26 RBIs. Solarte singled with two outs and the slow-footed McCann on second in the sixth. McCann was held at third as strong-armed right fielder Oswaldo Arcia fielded the ball and threw home, and Solarte was thrown out trying to take second. Arcia had two assists in Friday nights 6-1 win. NOTES: Twins rookie CF Danny Santana was out of the lineup, a day after he needed seven stitches to close a cut on his left eyelid. He was hurt when his batting helmet flew off during a headfirst slide and bounced up to hit him in the face. "We have to be guarded here," Gardenhire said. ... Gardenhire won a replay challenge in the third, and Eduardo Escobar wound up with an infield hit. ... Former Yankees All-Star Phil Hughes (5-1, 3.23) faces his former team Sunday. Rookie Chase Whitley (0-0, 2.57) starts for New York. ... Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh and Derick Brassard of the New York Rangers were in the crowd, and got big cheers when shown on the videoboard. The Rangers are in the Stanley Cup final. ... The Twins were trying for their fourth straight win at Yankee Stadium, having won their final two games at the park last year and again Friday. The last time Minnesota won four in a row in the Bronx was 1968. ' ' '